


San Junipero

by CatieFerrarer17



Category: Waverly and Nicole - Fandom, Wynonna Earp (TV), wayhaught - Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-09 12:55:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16450364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatieFerrarer17/pseuds/CatieFerrarer17





	1. Go along with it

 

The door was flung open with such force that it was nearly ripped from its hinges. The sound of the handle hitting the outside wall caused numerous birds nearby to take off in fright. This, however, was of no concern to the young woman who had broken the silence. In a flurry of tears, wavy strands of red hair stuck to her cheeks as she clattered down the steps of the wooden porch.

‘Nicole!’ She did not stop at her name so it had to be called again. ‘Nicole! Where are you going?’ The call was strained, desperate from the distressed face of the mother that appeared in the doorway.

‘Away from here!’ came the equally distraught reply as she opened her car door. ‘Anywhere you are not!’

Tightening the cord of her white robe, the older woman trod the same steps her daughter had done only moments before, ‘honey… you are not being reasonable…’

Stunned, Nicole wiped the tears from her cheeks and adjusted the large circular glasses on her nose, ‘how can you possibly say that?’ A shocked breath escaped her lips. ‘Especially after what you have just said to me in there.’

‘We… we…’ she was flustered until she saw the concerned face of her husband materialise from the house. ‘We just want what’s best for you sweetheart.’

Nicole studied her mother. There was nothing in her words she believed. ‘Surely that’s for me to be myself?’

The conflict in her mother was evident, but it was not enough. ‘Not in this my love…’ she continued, daring to venture a step forward. Nicole froze with one hand on the open car door and the other on the roof. Her body tensed as her mother drew nearer. ‘We can’t let this be your choice…’

Nicole’s eyes widened in pained disbelief, ‘you think this is a choice?’

There was a pause; one that felt like it lasted an age as Nicole’s eyes flitted over her mother’s face searching for even the tiniest hint of understanding. It wasn’t to come. ‘It can be,’ she nodded placing another foot forward on the moon kissed grass towards her daughter. ‘We can help you off this path; we just want what’s best for you.’

The young woman’s eyes pierced deeply into her mother’s. Without breaking their gaze, she held up her hand out halting her mother’s approach. A calm realisation came over her. ‘I never want anything from you… ever again.’ It was a realisation that broke her heart. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks that she wished weren’t falling. She felt they lessened the strength of her words. ‘If you can’t accept me and this… then…’ her voice cracked whilst her thoughts clouded and lost their coherency. ‘… I don’t want to know you or Dad anymore…’ She took the opportunity to glower at her father as he remained on the porch, stoic and stern. At his lack of reaction, Nicole dropped into her car and slammed the door shut behind her.

‘Nicole!’ her mother pleaded as she was lit up by headlights. ‘Honey, please!’

Gripping hold of the steering wheel, Nicole grasped that her mother was not going to move. Undeterred, she put the car into reverse to gain the room she needed to scream the car past her and out onto the unlit country road. As the house and two figures with it faded into the night, Nicole’s face creased up in anguish as her foot pressed harder on the accelerator. She didn’t know where she was going. She had no idea what she even wanted out of the undesirable situation. She would simply follow the road until her tears ran out.

 

1987 – 45 years later

Despite the drops of rain that fell from the night sky, the street dazzled with light. Lifting her head, an unassuming young woman craned her neck to look up. She blinked as a drop hit her forehead, nose then the pane of glass covering her left eye. She would have enjoyed the moment a little longer had it not been for an eruption of laughter from across the street. Bringing her head down, the young woman watched an open top car roll down the road and stop at the cinema opposite. The stereo blared out a familiar tune – Heaven is a place on Earth. It certainly seemed it to the group of girls that hopped excitedly out of the car before proceeding into the building.

Forgetting the raindrops, Nicole remembered why she was there. It was certainly not to stand in the street in the rain all night. She adjusted her denim jacket and crossed the road towards the sign in the distance - Tucker’s. Above it on the side of the grey building was plastered a poster for the latest release. Nicole took note of it, The Lost Boys, not one she had seen. It didn’t hold her attention for long due to the music reaching her ears from the bar nearby. As if in a trance, it lured her closer step by step, until another sound cut in.

‘Waverly come on…’

Nicole glanced round to see an attractive young woman marching across the road pursed by a man of about the same age. If the lights weren’t present, the woman’s attire would have been enough to illuminate the street. Her silver jacket sparkled along with the many chains hanging around her neck. Accompanied by a trendy hairstyle of curls and waves, it was clear that this was a young lady aware of what was in fashion whilst still making the outfit her own.

‘Waverly!’

She rolled her eyes but did not break her stride, ‘I’m still walking Champ…’

‘We’ve only got two hours left; we have to make the most of it…’ He busied himself trying to walk quicker so that he could get in front of her, but Waverly was making sure this did not happen.

‘I am making the most of it.’

They brushed right past Nicole as if she wasn’t there and disappeared into the bar along with their argument. As the door swung closed in front of her, Nicole found herself feeling compelled to follow. She glanced up at the sign blinking blue neon light into the night then pushed the doors open to delve into a world of flashing lights, smoke and music.

 

It seemed like a cavern of bustling and writhing bodies. The door had barely shut behind her before felt completely overwhelmed. Nevertheless, she was determined to proceed. Shaking off a body check by an oblivious girl who was heading to the dance floor, Nicole made her way up some steps to a raised area. This snaked around the outside of the club allowing Nicole to survey those dancing below. Most seemed so different to her, in dress, confidence and comfort in the surroundings. Many of them must have been there before.

Turning a corner, she found herself looking for the girl she had seen outside but as her eyes scanned the dancing crowd there was no sign of her or the man she had been arguing with. Everyone around was dressed in the fashions of the day creating a real mix of archetypes. Nicole spotted everything from preppy kids to prototype goths who masked themselves under thick layers of make-up. A strange blend that would probably have not come together under any other circumstances. But here, people had no choice. This was it.

Unable to shake feeling overwhelmed, Nicole found her way to a corner containing a number of video arcade games machines with such names as Rolling Thunder, Top Speed and Double Dragon. A strange sense of nostalgia washed over her as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. To her surprise, one contained a number of quarters. Picking one out, Nicole was drawn to Bubble Bobble, a platform game in which the players control the cartoon dragons that squirt bubbles. Its simplicity and daftness appealed to her. The moment her quarter hit the coin collector the game began.

It wasn’t long before Nicolle began to have great success at the game. Chuckling to herself, she smiled as she completed another level. Then, by level five, she realised that she was no longer alone. Due to how close he was standing, Nicole could hear the young man behind her slurp his drink through a straw. It unnerved her immediately. She put the game into pause and spun round, only to see that she didn’t need to be worried. He was a feeble looking man with thick-rimmed glasses, a baggy shirt and knitted waistcoat. Trying to seem cool, he was nodding his head to the music as he smiled at her. Despite his efforts, he was not remotely in time with it.

‘You’re good at this,’ he said gesturing to the game.

Feeling more at ease, Nicole returned to the game, ‘thanks, I’ve played it before.’ That was until he moved a little closer towards her. It appeared the initiation and acceptance of a conversation meant he was in. For the time being, she decided to ignore him.

‘It’s got different endings, depending on if you’re in one or two player,’ he went on.

‘Uh huh?’

‘Kind of the first game to do that.’

Nicole was no longer listening as she lost her last life, ‘dammit!’ Gently annoyed, she dropped her hands down to the controls then pushed herself away from the game.

Davis saw his opening, ‘oh do you want to…’ he put his drink down and picked up the controls to another game. Cautiously, Nicole took the steps towards him but stopped dead when she saw what was on the screen. In small pixels, a car tried to screech around another as they raced through a city before losing control and flipping over numerous times.

Blinking uncomfortably, Nicole backed away, ‘Uh no… sorry, it’s not you. I just want to get my bearings.’ Confused, Davis could only stand and watch Nicole walk away to get lost in the crowds.

 

The night was not what she hoped it would be. She had heard great things; people discovering who they were as they hadn’t had the chance before; getting to catch up with old friends maybe even lovers or just simply having the fun they had deserved but never received. Nicole’s night was turning out to be none of those things, and there wasn’t long left. Now sipping a coke, she slumped down into a seat at a vacant table and allowed herself to be content with what she had. She had always enjoyed people watching. There was a lot to see, a world she had never had the chance to get to know, the young couples, preening jocks and the cool kids. They were all out tonight.

Suddenly, in a flash of silver, Waverly walked past. Halting in her stride, she spotted something in the distance which caused her roll her eyes and abruptly sit down beside Nicole. With a sharp intake of breath, Nicole stared at her rather surprised.

‘Go along with whatever I say…’ Waverly whispered.

‘Sorry?’

‘Whatever I say, go along with it.’ Nicole didn’t have time to argue or question anymore. As quickly as Waverly had appeared, Champ was now standing in front of them. He opened his mouth to speak, but Waverly was quicker. ‘Okay Champ? You’re just pestering now. Do I have to red light you?’

Champ checked his watch, ‘there’s not much time left…’

‘Champ…’ Waverly sighed.

‘Come on…’ he pleaded stepping forward. ‘Last week we had the most amazing…’

Nicole’s eyes widened.

‘Last week was last week,’ she snapped cutting him off. ‘Now, I need to talk to my friend here, okay? I haven’t seen her in a while…’ As she spoke, she slid an arm around Nicole’s shoulders causing the red head to stiffen. Champ frowned at the pair unconvinced but his attempt to speak was stopped once again. ‘Champ, she’s sick, like six months to live sick…’

‘Five actually,’ Nicole chimed in, hardly believing she had said it.

Waverly glanced at Nicole both entertained and impressed. Doing her best to hide this, she looked back at Champ, ‘I need to catch up with her… private time.’ Champ thought about protesting but clearly thought better of it as he raised his hands in surrender and backed away out of sight. Waverly waited until he had completely disappeared before breaking out into soft laughter. ‘Sorry for killing you. The whole six months to live thing. Sorry… five. Five was nice touch.’ With a sweet smile, she held her hand out to Nicole. ‘Waverly.’

‘Nicole,’ she replied taking the hand outstretched to her.

The warmth from both their hands blended together as their fingers clasped. Nicole wanted it to linger, but Waverly broke the touch as if she felt something uncomfortable. ‘He’s not a bad guy…’ she said gesturing in the direction of where Champ had been standing. ‘I feel kinda bad. Met him at the Quagmire so…’

Nicole frowned at the absorbing young woman, ‘what’s the Quagmire?’

This gave Waverly the chance to study Nicole. She liked how Nicole’s red curls hung around her beautifully pale skin. Some were tucked into the large glasses that made up most of her delicate face. The lack of make-up and identity due to her meek clothes caused Waverly to conclude that she was far too innocent to know about such places. ‘If you don’t know already what the Quagmire is, you probably don’t want to know.’ Her eyes tipped to Nicole’s glass. ‘You want another one?’

‘I er… I’m not sure I…’ Nicole stuttered.

‘Yeah you do,’ Waverly grinned getting up. ‘Come on…’ she offered her hand out but Nicole could only stare at it. Was this what she came for? There was so much resting on reaching out and taking that hand. It was terrifying. ‘Come on Nicki, live a little…’

Nicole wasn’t sure if she liked the nickname, but she sure liked the smile that was welcoming her to make more of the night that she had waited so long to have.

 


	2. Regarding You

 

It didn’t matter what she tried, she could not prevent the tears from streaming down her cheeks. She tried to feel angry, she tried to feel strong and the most unsuccessful, was trying to feel nothing. The painful knot in her stomach radiating out through her to every part of her body was preventing that from happening. The world might have been flashing past outside but all that existed to her was inside the car. It was too much. Without checking her mirrors, she dragged the car off the road and screeched to a halt. She was startled by a passing car’s horn blaring out; the driver having been taken by surprise by her un-signalled manoeuvre.

Furious, Nicole threw her door open and herself out of her car, then directed her anger at the vehicle speeding past ‘come on then!’ but it was disappearing quicker than her voice could carry. Searching around, she found a rock and took it in her hand. With a scream, she launched it after the car only for it to die only metres from her hand. As the car sped away untouched, Nicole watched the rock land with a pathetic thud in a puff of dirt. Angered, Nicole took it up again but this time a nearby tree was her victim. Upon impact, the rock caused bark to shatter into the night air. However, this was still not enough of a release. She took up a large fallen twig in her hands and beat it against the tree until all that was left was a tiny stump, the shards of what it once was scattered all around her. Hands now bleeding, Nicole slumped to the ground. Was this how it ended?

It was a thought that only last a few seconds as unexpectedly another came into her mind. Her head lifted, her attention was brought back to her car. The stinging in her hands seemed to recede as she dusted herself off and returned to her seat behind the wheel. She remembered to the turn the lights back on, but just as she had done when veering off the road, she forgot to signal when merging back onto it.

 

1987 – 45 years later

Feeling a little like a smitten fan, Nicole followed Waverly through the crowds to the bar. The brunette moved with such ease and freedom, like she belonged there. It was not how Nicole felt at all. As Walk Like An Egyptian now filled the club, Nicole felt like she didn’t have any place in such an establishment. Yet, somehow, she was resisting the urge to run. There was something about Waverly which was keeping her there.

‘Hey blondie?’ Waverly called as they took their seats on some bar stools.

Mockingly offended, the barman spun round majestically and pointed to himself, ‘who me?’

‘You are indeed,’ Kelly smiled. ‘Jack and Coke, times two.’ She motioned with her fingers also to ensure that she could be understood above the music.

Nicole definitely heard her, ‘oh no, mine was just a Coke.’

A request that was duly ignored, ‘times two,’ Kelly repeated to the barman. Nicole realised quickly that she would have no further say in what happened that night. Despite how disconcerting it was, maybe it was just what she needed.

As Blondie started fixing their drinks, Nicole felt Waverly’s eyes upon her. She hardly dared to look round but as the feeling loitered, she felt herself unable to stop herself from doing so. A strange look was on Waverly’s face as gazed at Nicole brazenly. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m regarding you,’ Waverly replied. She rested her head on her hand as her eyes did not leave the woman in front of her.

‘I feel like I’m being… analysed.’

‘Shhhh,’ Waverly laughed as she continued to puzzle Nicole out. It was clear from her expression that she had reached a conclusion. ‘Why the glasses?’ Unsettled, Nicole adjusted the large round spectacles on her nose. Waverly could see the effect her words had had. ‘I mean I like them, they totally work on you, but… do you need them? I mean do you…’

Nicole realised she had been caught, ‘yeah… the lenses don’t do anything…’

‘Knew it,’ Waverly grinned triumphant.

Although a little annoyed, Nicole couldn’t help but be impressed by Waverly’s observatory skills, ‘I wore glasses back in school… I guess now they’re kind of a comfort thing.’

‘Old times sake,’ Waverly nodded understanding. ‘I’d figured they were kind of a fashion statement.’

‘Really?’ Nicole smiled hoping that Waverly’s point was that her fashion statement was a good one.

‘… but then the rest of your outfit is… not.’ Waverly finished causing Nicole’s face to fall quickly. She looked down at her clothes a little taken back. ‘Oh don’t take that wrong.’ Waverly said hastily. ‘It’s refreshing. I mean, look around. People try so hard to look how they think they should look.’ The two took a moment to cast their eyes over the figures twisting and turning to the music on the dance floor. It did look exactly as Waverly had described. ‘Looks they probably saw in some movie.’ She scoffed at them before turning back to Nicole. Her face softened as their eyes met again. Gently, she reached up and touched the rim of Nicole’s glasses. ‘But I like these. They’re authentically you.’

Overcome with shyness, Nicole adjusted them herself and moved away a little, ‘to be honest I think I wear them for something to hide behind.’

‘Something transparent to hide behind?’ Waverly chuckled. ‘Okay.’ Nicole didn’t have time to be slightly irritated by Waverly’s remark as just at that moment, Blondie placed their drinks down on the bar between them. Oblivious to Nicole’s irritation, Waverly picked hers up, ‘thanks’. With a flash of a broad smile, Blondie wiped the bar then attended another customer. Waverly returned her gaze to Nicole, ‘cheers.’

A little hesitantly, Nicole picked hers up, clinked it against Waverly’s and took a sip. No sooner had she swallowed, she was coughing as the strength of the liquid hit her mouth and throat. Slowly she placed it back on the bar. ‘That’s… um…’

‘Never tasted it before?’

A little embarrassed, Nicole avoided her eye and attempted another sip. Unfortunately, it had the same effect, ‘no… I just…’ she could barely get the words out as she tried. ‘… I haven’t had it in a while… it’s good…’

Waverly could see right through Nicole, but also sensed how important it was for Waverly to acknowledge Nicole’s awkwardness and ignore it. Again, she found herself regarding the woman endeavouring to hide behind her classes. There was something alluring about her, a gentleness of someone trying to be strong. Someone who had no idea who they were.

‘Do you live here?’ Waverly asked sipping her drink smoothly.

‘No… but…’

‘A tourist?’ Waverly pressed on. As Nicole sipped another tiny mouthful, with less of a reaction, she waved her hand to indicate that she felt she was neither a resident nor a tourist. Waverly saw straight through it. ‘We’ll go with tourist. So you’re new here?’

With slight exasperation at being found out, Nicole nodded, ‘first night.’

‘First night?’ Waverly seemed almost excited. ‘Well okay!’ She initiated another clink of glasses. Then as the music changed to What Have You Done for Me lately by Janet Jackson, her expression was filled with only more excitement.  She leapt off her seat causing Nicole to jump back. ‘Oh my god! WE HAVE to dance to this!’ She took one last large swig of her drink and slammed it back down on the bar.

Nicole’s drink shook in her hand, ‘with each other?’

‘Uh huh.’ Nicole was shocked by Waverly’s completely blasé attitude, like she didn’t have a care in the world. Not that it hadn’t been completely apparent before with her treatment of Champ but now that it was directed at her, Nicole was at a complete loss as to what to do with it. Waverly didn’t give her the time to think it over. Before Nicole could take another sip, Waverly had taken her hand and was leading her to the dance floor.

‘Wait… dance floors are not me!’ Nicole protested.

‘Ah,’ Waverly smiled not breaking stride. ‘Let’s not limit ourselves.’

Nicole found herself straining against Waverly’s grip, ‘I can’t…’

Waverly stopped and faced Nicole. Their chests were only inches apart and Nicole could almost feel the heat glowing off Waverly’s body. Her senses had never been so aroused but so afraid at the same time. Her breath was caught in her chest and she could feel her heart rate quickening rapidly. The brunette’s face softened again and was oddly reassuring, ‘just follow my lead.’ She held out her other hand so that Nicole could hold both. Not breaking their locked gaze, Waverly now walked backwards onto the dance floor as she led Nicole in. Waverly took no notice of the other dancers around her but to Nicole it felt like all of them noticed her.

As the chorus of the track came into full swing, Waverly let go of Nicole’s hands and began to dance her body writhing and moving rhythmically to the beat. She was carefree, unyielding in her movements. Her arms raised above her head as the beat flowed through her. At moments she closed her eyes and just let go; in a way that Nicole knew she would never be able to. She could only stand as a statue willing her body to move with everything she had.

‘Come on…’ Waverly smiled enthrallingly. ‘Just let go…’ She closed her eyes again and let the beat take over. After a long intake of breath, Nicole forced her shoulders to start moving to the beat in sharp awkward moments. It did not go unnoticed. ‘Copy me…’ Raising her hands again, Waverly began a dance move to the song, a simple movement of the arms, which would be easy for Nicole to copy. ‘You can do it…’ Nicole could see there was no use; Waverly was not going to allow her to stand there motionless. Despite all of her body willing her not to, she began to copy Waverly. Her moves did not flow in the same way as the brunette but her effort was beginning to see some improvement in her moves. ‘You got it!’

The sound of Waverly’s voice was like fuel to her body as she began to dance with less hesitancy and it was almost giving way to enjoyment. The invisible strings that had been holding her limbs down seemed to break and they no longer felt heavy and stiff. The music also had a new grip; not one of being overbearing and loud but felt like it was beating right inside her, the vibrations urging her on, as she continued to dance. She was so lost in her own dancing that for a few minutes she had completely overseen how Waverly’s were becoming more flamboyant, nearly provocative.       

It was as Waverly took a step closer to Nicole, that her attention was brought back to where she was. If Waverly was any closer, their bodies would have been touching as they danced. It was as this continued that Nicole caught on to the fact that those around them had begun to notice. Her eyes scanned their expressions. She was unable to read them. All she could see was that every pair of eyes surrounding them was now glued to Waverly and herself as Waverly carried on dancing, completely unaware. Her limbs returned to heavy and she found herself slowly backing away. As she watched, there was no way that she could match Waverly’s dancing and the painful realisation that she had no place in that club hit her again. This was certainly Waverly’s scene, evident as she lapped up the attention from the other revellers. Nicole had no place in it. Sadly, she turned and ran out of the club via the back door. It was a few moments before Waverly noticed that she was gone.

 

The gentle pattering of the rain around her was a welcome sound against the bass thumping out of the club. It did not drown it out but as Nicole watched the drops fall into the puddles, it allowed her some distraction. She could fell herself getting wet; the awning above was not creating much shelter from it but she was not bothered by it. She had failed to enjoy what she had been given, haunted once again by the past she longed to escape.

‘Hey, why’d you run away?’

Nicole’s head snapped up. She had been so lost in her self-pity that she hadn’t heard Waverly emerge from the club. ‘Sorry… I’m just not much of a dancer.’

Waverly placed a hand against the wall Nicole was leaning against, ‘no shit. You looked like a frightened horse on a frozen lake back there.’ Unamused, Nicole moved to walk off. ‘I’m kidding…’ Waverly laughed softly grabbing Nicole’s hand to stop her. Nicole looked down at the contact then back at Waverly with an eyebrow raised. ‘Half kidding….’ Nicole relaxed. It appeared that in that moment, a little vulnerability was evident in Waverly. ‘Sorry I pushed you into it.’ They both leaned back against the wall, the odd raindrop falling on their hair and faces. ‘Saturday night’s once a week, it’s like no time, I get impatient.’

‘It’s not that…’ Nicole explained meekly. ‘Everyone was looking.’

‘Looking?’

Nicole shifted her weight awkwardly, ‘you know? Two girls… dancing…’

Upon understanding her, Waverly couldn’t help but giggle, ‘okay, one, folks are way less uptight than they used to be and two, this is a party town… no one is judging.’ Nicole remained unconvinced. ‘Face it, if they were staring it’s because… I… am… bodacious.’ Pushing herself from the wall, Waverly looked down at her own body and performed a rather inane sensual move as she thrust her hips out in Nicole’s direction.  

Now it was Nicole’s turn to laugh, ‘you’re ridiculous.’

‘Thank you,’ Waverly grinned proudly.

The tension between them melted away as Yorkie turned her eyes to look up at the sky. As the rain fell down on her face, she felt strangely cleansed by it. This was the first time she’d felt like she could open up to anyone. ‘I’ve never been on a dance floor before.’

‘Never? As in the whole time you’ve been alive, never?’

‘Never,’ Nicole repeated. She knew how absurd it sounded.

‘What are you like… Amish?’ Waverly asked genuinely still trying to wrap her head around the idea. ‘That’s one sheltered existence you got there.’

Nicole shrugged despondently, ‘as far as my family’s concerned, I can’t do anything.’

Waverly leant back against the wall, ‘yeah well, no one knows about even half the shit I get up to. With your folks, it’s from a place of love though right? They worry…’

‘They don’t worry,’ Nicole admitted plainly. ‘Just the concept of me having any fun… that would blow their minds!’

From the downhearted look on Nicole’s face, Waverly was struck by an idea. She pushed herself away from the wall and stood opposite her with arms crossed and a look of resolve. ‘What would you like to do? That you’ve never done?’ In Nicole’s pause, Waverly took the initiative and moved in a little closer.

Nicole’s breath caught in her throat once again, ‘uh…’ she looked up but couldn’t meet Waverly’s eye. ‘Oh so many things…’

Waverly took Nicoles inability to look at her as a positive sign and took another step closer, ‘San Junipero’s a party town. All up for grabs… and midnight is two hours away…’

By the closing of the distance between them, Nicole was in no doubt of Waverly’s intentions. What she could not decide, is whether she wanted to be party to them. She could feel herself shaking, but whether she was afraid, nervous or excited, she could not tell. She swallowed deeply to try and calm herself, ‘that’s not long…’

Stepping in one more step, Waverly’s leg brushed up against Nicole’s. At the red head’s sudden intake of breath, Waverly placed a hand on Nicole’s hip. She wasn’t showing it, but she was just as nervous. ‘No it’s not,’ she whispered. It was if there was no other sound around them, no bass, no rain, just them.

Nicole’s arms remained down by her side. Waverly’s hand on her hip was sending electricity through her body. It was nothing like anything she had ever felt. And it was too much. Abruptly, she stood up and moved away from Waverly, ‘I uh… I… listen…’

‘What’s wrong?’ Kelly asked softly.

‘No, I mean…’ Nicole stammered.

‘It’s okay…’ Waverly assured her.

‘It’s not… dammit,’ she screwed her hands up trying to stay calm. ‘Look, I… ah… you seem…’

Waverly dared to take a step forward, ‘look… really… it’s okay…’

‘I’m engaged. I have a fiancé!’ Nicole blurted out.

The brunette couldn’t help but pause at the surprising admission. ‘At your age?’ Waverly questioned.

‘Yes I know… yes,’ Nicole babbled. She was aware that she was now standing in the rain getting very wet, but she had to keep the distance between herself and the very tempting young woman standing opposite her. ‘He’s a good guy. He’s a nice guy.’

‘Good guy, nice guy?’

Nicole could tell that Waverly was playfully mocking her, ‘he IS a good guy.’

‘A rootin tootin straight up guy,’ came the reply in a country western accent.

The growing irritation on Nicole’s face was clear, ‘Greg, he’s called Greg…’ she stated firmly.

Waverly regretted her joke and softened, ‘is he here?’

‘No, he’s…’ she indicated with her hand.

‘Elsewhere?’ Waverly finished for her.

Nicole sighed, ‘yeah…’

‘Uh huh,’ Waverly acknowledged this information and then simply shrugged it aside. She wanted to be respectful but she was well aware of time slipping away. ‘Do you want to go to bed with me?’ Nicole’s eyes widened in shock. ‘We could be back at mine like…’ she clicked her fingers with a seductive smile.

Shivering at both the weather and the very idea, Nicole’s eyes hit the floor, ‘I never did anything like that…’

‘All the more reason…’

Nicole raised her head. She studied the beautiful woman in front of her. She was ray of light in the dismal alleyway they stood in. It seemed quite poignant that she shone whilst the rain fell around them. Nicole was so used to standing in the rain. She couldn’t change that now.

‘You’re nice… but I can’t…’

‘Okay,’ Waverly shrugged.

Nicole was almost a little offended at Waverly’s nonchalant reaction, ‘I’m sorry… I…’

‘It’s okay. I get it…’ Waverly smiled.

Despite her relaxed reaction, Nicole was puzzled why she felt so hurt, ‘I have to go…’

‘In this?’ Waverly asked gesturing to the rain but then appreciated that Nicole was already soaked.

Without making eye contact, Nicole marched forward and took Waverly’s hand shaking it firmly, ‘it’s been great to meet you…’

‘Likewise,’ she replied a little taken back. She was prepared to make eye contact, but Nicole was not. It was clear to Waverly, that this was not what Nicole wanted. Once Nicole had let go of Waverly’s hand, she spun on her heels and marched out of the alleyway.

Around the corner, once she was out of sight of Waverly, she leant back against the wall murmuring to herself, ‘okay… okay… shit…’ she put her hands up to her face as the rain drops fell down them. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ Using herself elbows, she peeled herself off the wall and marched a few more strides then stopped again. By her sides, her hands clasped into fists again as she tried to fight the urge to walk away. That’s what she had always done. This could be different. There were still two more hours to change this – to do something she had never done before. Closing her eyes, Nicole took a deep breath in and exhaled. When she opened her eyes, she had made a decision.

Feeling a new resolve, she returned to the alleyway but Waverly was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence of life was the closing fire exit door through which Waverly must have just walked. Nicole had waited too long. She hovered for a moment assessing the situation, then finally decided that she would not follow. Waverly would move on and find another to spend the night with and she would be forgotten, shrugged aside, just as Champ had been. Crushed, Nicole knew her night was done and walked out of the alleyway and into the rain.

 


End file.
